Mrs. Texas 2010

Well, friends, I have some major competition at Mrs. America. This gorgeous lady, Shannon Patterson, was crowned Mrs. Texas 2010 this past Saturday night. I was there to sing at the pageant so I watched her compete. All I can say is the judges did an excellent job! She was beautiful on stage! Here I am after the pageant with judges April Swartz and Heather Rouba.
With the outgoing Mrs. Texas, Melissa Pozca.

Here I am posing for a prom pic with Frankie Simmons. He will be designing my gown for nationals!!! I've seen a sneak peek and it is going to be gorgeous!
My long-time friend, Molly Crouch, came with me for the trip. I was so grateful that she came with me for the nine hours in the car! Our moms have been best friends since 7th grade!
Congratulations, Shannon!

Thank you to Talia Berning for letting me borrow her beautiful gown!

Ponca City Herb Festival/Splash for CF

I have grown up visiting Ponca City numerous times each year. My mother is from Ponca and my grandparents and cousin still live there. This past weekend I was asked to be a part of two different events going on there. The first event was their annual herb festival. I hadn't ever been to this festival before and I very much enjoyed it. In addition to all the fresh herbs and flowers, there were many different booths set up where people were selling their crafts and decor. I was asked to attend the vine cutting ceremony at the beginning of the festival and say a few words.

They started off with the mayor cutting the vine.Then I was introduced to the crowd by one of the board members of the festival. I had a chance to welcome everyone to the event, tell them about my ties to Ponca City and, OF COURSE, talk a little bit about CF :)With mayor, Homer Nicholson
After I was finished speaking, Ryan and I took Hayden to the children's tent where she made a beautiful princess hat!She was very proud of this hat! She wore it all over the festival grounds!

The other reason I was in Ponca City was to take part in an exciting fundraiser called "Splash for CF". After I won, a press release about me was printed in the Ponca City paper. Soon after, I received a phone call from Kelly Johnson, owner of Quality Water in Ponca. He told me that his main supplier of his chemicals has a national fundraising campain for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and that the supplier encourages all local stores to participate. He asked if I would be willing to come up and help them by being a part of their event. So Quality Water put on a big beach party! They had people sponsored to swim laps in the pool and they cooked out food all day long. The local radio station was on hand and a local teenager named Wesley, who has CF, was also there to make the event even more personal. For my part, Kelly and I came up with the idea for "Princess Photos". Little girls could come in and have their picture taken with me for $5 and all the money would go to CF. A professional photographer donated her time and set up a backdrop so the pictures looked more official. Parents could immediately look at the pictures on the computer, pick out their favorite, and have them printed right there on the spot. Many of them had me autograph them before they left. I had so much fun!

Here is part of the poster they designed for the event.
The first little princess of the day!
Being interviewed live on-air by DJ Sean Anderson for 100.7 fm KPNCLook at this precious doll! Aaaaaaand....someone brought in their dog :)
This lovely couple brought in a picture of their granddaughter, Cameryn, who has CF. She lives in Wichita and couldn't be there but they asked me to take a picture with her photo. They told me of the great success Cameryn has had with one of the clinical trials! It gave me goose bumps just listening to them talk about it! That is what these dollars raised are doing!!! My cousin Mark's son, Kelby, was swimming laps to raise money.
Here's Hayden modeling the lovely crowns each little girl received when they came in for their picture.
Me, Ryan and Hayden with my cousin Mark, his wife Marcy, and their son Kelby. We loved getting to spend time with them.
Both events were very fun and getting to stay with my family made it a fun little getaway for my family. I so appreciate Quality Water putting together such a wonderful event! I hope they'll have me back next year!

Lily Pulitzer outfit provided by Dillards Penn Square

Children's Miracle Network Telethon

I was asked by Jan Dunham, director of the Oklahoma City Children's Miracle Network, to be a part of the annual CMN telethon. She wanted me to bring Hayden on camera with me for us both to be interviewed. They asked me about Hayden and her cystic fibrosis, and they asked me to explain some of the difficulties the come with being a parent of a child with CF. They asked Hayden if she did treatments. She said, "Yes, and I swallow pills". When Anita Blanton asked her if that was hard to do she replied, "No, they're just fine"! I very pleased with how the interview went and Hayden did on camera. She was a big girl!

Here we are with KOCO anchors Anita Blanton and Daniel Holdge. I'm not quite sure why Hayden looks so grumpy in this picture! After our interview! We celebrated with free ice cream from the Schwans truck outside!
They then asked Hayden if she would like a carriage ride. Gee, what do you think she said?! She loved getting to pet the horse.
My mom, Cheryl Baldwin, went with us.

I had to sneak this picture. What four-year-old sits with her legs crossed?!
Hayden and her Mommo.
We definitely had fun. I hope a lot of money was raised for the Children's Miracle Network!

Antonio Melani dress provided by Dillards Penn Square

Necklace provided by Stella and Dot (ask me if you'd like info on finding a rep!)

Turning Point Ministries

This past Friday, I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at a fundraiser/golf tournament benefiting Turning Point Ministries. This is such a wonderful organization founded by members of my church. In the past, Habitat for Humanity hasn't been able to build houses in Edmond because the cost of land here is too high. Turning Point began as a way to purchase and develop land here in Edmond for Habitat for Humanity to then come and build on. They are able to do this through individual and corporate donations, grants, fundraisers, as well as through partnerships with the Edmond faith community and civic organizations. Turning Point also purchases and leases "step-up" homes to Section 8 clients waiting for a Habitat home. Legacy Station, their first community of 12 homes, will be complete in about 2-3 years. Each lot they donate to Habitat for Humanity costs approximately $25,000 so donations to the foundation are important for them to continue their wonderful work I really hope you will visit their website, www.turningpointoklahoma.org , to learn more about their organization and find out ways that you can help.

Here I am with a couple of the founding members, Martha and Bob Turner.With Habitat for Humanity CEO, Ann Felton. This was Hayden's first time to accompany me to an official appearance! She made sure to put on extra lipgloss!

With my pastor, Mateen Elass. He was there to play the tournament and support the cause.
Speaking to the golfers before they headed out to play.

Thank you to members of the Turning Point board for asking me to be a part of your event. I very much enjoyed it and can't wait to get started on building the next house in Edmond! There are witnesses who can attest to the fact that I'm actually pretty handy with a nail gun!

Evan Piccone dress provided by Dillards Penn Square

Musashi's

I had the opportunity to meet up with some of the ladies from the pageant for dinner at Musashi's last week. Not everyone was able to make it, unfortunately, but those of us who did definitely had a fun time. Their food is sooo yummy! Each of us asked the waiter to take a picture of our group. While he was was on his fifth camera, I apologized for making him do so much photography! He said he does it all the time. In his words, "Musashi's is like the adult Chucky Cheese". Well I can see why! Since we were having a celebration dinner they brought out free green tea ice cream for all of us. I had a wonderful time with these beautiful ladies and I'm hoping ALL of the girls can get together soon!

top row L to R: Marci Stager, Angela Russell, Joy Rose Murphy

bottom row L to R: Rachel Flint, Heather Rouba, Me

Sponsor - Brian Attebery and Results Fitness

I am the luckiest girl in the world! Brian Attebery, personal trainer and owner of Results Fitness and Nutrition, is sponsoring me for the year! Brian, is a personal friend and I know for a fact that he is the absolute best at what he does. He is extremely knowledeable about fitness training and it is evident when you meet him how passionate he is about his field. Brian has already set up workout and meal plans and I'm already starting to see the difference. His gym, Results Fitness and Nutrition, is at 15th and Santa Fe in Edmond, OK. They have weights and cardio equipment as well as classes and tanning. Childcare is also available during certain hours.
I've posted some info from his website, http://www.resultsfitnessusa.com/, below for you to check out. Thanks Brian! I can't thank you enough!

Brian's Bio
Brian Attebery is the owner of RESULTS Fitness and Nutrition Center. Brian has been a certified personal trainer since 1993. He has a B.S. in Health and Sport Sciences from the University of Oklahoma. During his career he has consulted thousands of clients ranging from average people wanting to lose weight, to professional athletes trying to improve their athletic performance. Brian is a columnist for Edmond Life and Leisure and College Crowd Magazine and is a regular speaker on health and fitness for many schools and corporations. He is responsible for the fitness and nutrition of four states in the Miss U.S.A. and Miss Teen U.S.A. system and has had many of his clients place in the finals at Miss U.S.A., Miss Teen U.S.A., and Miss America, including the over-all winner of Miss America 2007 and Miss Teen U.S.A. 2001 and 2008. A competitive bodybuilder, Brian won the title of Mr. Oklahoma in 2001.

About his training in the pageant systems:

* 4 National Winners! *
Miss Teen U.S.A. - 2008
Miss America - 2007
Miss Teen U.S.A. - 2001
National Teenager - 2001

Multiple National Finalists
Pageant training is available through:
Personal Training-mail out programs
Nutritional guidance-mail out diets available
Body sculpting and toning-nutritional supplements available

Successful training contestants:
Mrs. United States for:
Oklahoma
Missouri
Kansas
Arkansas

Miss Oklahoma National Teenager
Miss Oklahoma Jr. National Teenager
Miss Texas National Teenager
Miss Texas Jr. National Teenager
Miss Arkansas USA
Miss Arkansas Teen
Miss Kansas USA
Miss Kansas Teen USA
Miss Missouri Teen
Miss Nebraska USA
Miss Nebraska Teen USA
Miss Oklahoma USA
Miss Oklahoma Teen USA

The Burger Joint

If you live in the Oklahoma City area, you need to stop by The Burger Joint for lunch or dinner this upcoming Tuesday, May 25th. They will be giving a portion of their profits for the day to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation! I have been to this restaurant before and they have an awesome selection of sliders and the yummiest sweet potato fries! To find them, go to the parking lot in front of the Best Buy at 63rd and May. In the parking lot is a free-standing building and The Burger Joint is on the ground floor. I hope you can make it!!!